Soupruary 12th: Carrot, Fennel & Orange

I managed to brilliantly not buy carrots when I went to the store tonight, so thanks to Josh for the reinforcement carrots that allowed this unusual but tasty soupicnic to go down.


Location:
My apartment, Cincinnati, Ohio


Attendees:
Josh, Kat, Kris, Taylor, me

Menu:
Carrot, Fennel & Orange Soup
Mushroom, Brown Rice & Quinoa Casserole
Mixed Greens with Dried Cherries & Goat Cheese
Delicious Sourdough (which went incredibly well with the soup, so I thought I'd mention it)

Entertainment:

Finding creative surfaces upon which to rest food (see above, Josh's use of the good ol' W3)

And...Who needs entertainment when you have such good company?

The Soup:

I can imagine this soup being really excellent in the summertime. I can also imagine it being quite delicious in the winter (because it was).

The unexpected flavors worked together really well. Everyone remarked that the soup was indeed different, and that it was different in a good way.

If I'm not mistaken, this was both the first time I've cooked with fennel and the first time I've had a carrot soup. I'm happy with both. I followed the recipe pretty closely, except that I added a little fresh ginger, orange zest and cayenne pepper for a little zing and substituted vegetable broth for part of the water that the recipe prescribed.

Adapted from Gourmet, April 1996

1 medium fennel bulb, stalks trimmed flush with bulb, and bulb sliced thin crosswise
2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 lbss carrots, sliced thin (about 4 cups)
1 garlic clove, sliced thin

1/4 t fresh ginger, grated

dash of ground cayenne pepper
4 c vegetable broth

2 c water
1 t salt, or to taste

rind of one orange
1/2 c fresh orange juice
1/4 c sour cream

In your soup pot cook fennel bulb in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and turning golden. Add carrots, garlic and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add vegetable broth, water and salt and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, or until carrots are very tender.

Add ginger, orange rind, orange juice, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Heat soup, stirring, just until heated through (do not let boil).

Serve soup garnished with fennel fronds.